Almost 100 Puppies Rescued In Illegal Trade Operation

The DSPCA are delighted to announce the success of last night's seizure of 96 puppies by the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) from two individuals who were attempting to import these dogs illegally into the UK.

The puppies were shipped from Dublin Port earlier yesterday.

Two shipments of dogs - including beagles, basset hounds, labradoodles and pomeranians - were intercepted at Holyhead Port.

The puppies were aged around six or seven weeks' old, and were located on two separate ferries arriving at Holyhead from Dublin yesterday morning. They were being kept in "hugely inappropriate" conditions.

In a statement on its website, the DSPCA said the 96 puppies were rescued by the RSPCA as part of Operation Delphin, a multi-agency collaboration targeting the illegal puppy trade into the UK from Ireland.

The DSPCA has stated that a number of them are ill and undergoing veterinary treatment.

Ian Briggs, of the RSPCA's special operations unit, said:

These poor puppies were being carted into Wales in deeply inappropriate conditions in the early hours of the morning.

Sadly, to unscrupulous dealers, these young pups are nothing more than a cash bonanza - and dealers would have been targeting tens of thousands of pounds from these shipments.

This is another shocking example of people being readily prepared to act illegally and compromise the welfare of defenceless animals to make a quick buck - but, fortunately, they were stopped in their tracks.